Unit 2 - Economic development and environment

Question 1

What characterises a ‘developed’ country and a ‘developing’ country?

Answer 1

Literacy rate/education
Wealth of country/income per household
medicine/healthcare
Sustainable development
Happiness

Question 2

Do you think GDP is a good/sufficient way of measuring a country’s development? Why/why not?

Answer 2

Pros - Standard of living
Cons - Does Not accurately reflect inequalities and wealth distribution

Question 3

Pros and cons of free trade

Answer 3

Pros:

Expands products variety, opens new markets
Economic growth
Greater efficiency
More money in the economy
Less risk management
Prices of products are lowered
Generates a greater number of jobs (exports + imports)

Cons:

Environmental abuse
Cheap labour
Exploitation
Not enough sales
Governments earn less

Question 4

Definition of a push and pull factor

Answer 4

Push factor - anything that forces someone to migrate.

Pull factor - things that encourage someone to migrate to another country.

Question 5

Pro’s and con’s of migration

Answer 5

Pro’s:
Migration diversifies local economies
Creates a global market
Fairer levels of population distribution

Con’s:
If immigrants are not properly integrated, it can create high levels of crime, poverty, job displacement, unemployment etc.

Question 6

remittance definition

Answer 6

amount of money earned by a migrant worker in one country and sent back to their own country.

Question 7

voluntary repatriation definition

Answer 7

voluntarily making the decision to return to one’s point of origin.

Question 8

UN definition of a refugee

Answer 8

Someone who is outside their nationality and is unable to return to their home country because of well-founded fears of being persecuted.’

• migrants are those who leave their countries for reasons unrelated to violence and persecution, this is problematic since it does not include those who leave due to environmental factors

Question 9

What is an ‘asylum seeker’?

Answer 9

A person seeking refuge in a host country, you are not officially recognised as a refugee without the title.

Question 10

Non refoulement definition

Answer 10

A principle preventing a nation from sending an individual to a country where their life and freedom are threatened.

Question 10

World bank purpose and summary

Answer 10

Funnels billions of dollars every year into ending global poverty. First created after WW2 to assist in reconstruction. From the 1970s it shifted its focus to reduce global poverty. Helps to fund projects for finance or infrastructure.

In india: helped with the construction of roads to connect poor rural communities with schools, markets and clean water sources.

Cons:
High budget projects have been the subject to corruption and cover ups.

Nearly 3.5 million people have been displaced by world bank projects.

70 million to Kenya, however, they used that funding to evict several groups of indigenous people from the land.

Question 11

IMF purpose and summary

Answer 11

Created alongside the World Bank in 1945. Focuses on financing and investing in developing countries as well as eliminating poverty. Primarily monitors exchange rates and fosters global financial cooperation. Provides loans to developing countries. Biggest borrowers are Portugal, Greece, Ireland and Ukraine. The balancing force of the IMF prevents any potential ‘domino effect’ in collapsing economies.

The IMF gave loans to African countries after the recession in 2008.

cons:
Member nations which invest more money in the IMF get more voting rights e.g US owns 16.74% votes (contributes 58 billion USD)

The IMF serves the political interests of the member nations.

Question 12

European union

Answer 12

Promote development between its member states
Economic and political union

Question 13

Emergency aid strengths and weaknesses

Answer 13

Saves lives and reduces suffering
Immediate response to disasters, war, humanitarian crisis
Moral obligation

Success is not guaranteed
Short term solution
Possibly subjected to corruption and greed

Question 14

Government long term aid strengths and weaknesses

Answer 14

Increase a country’s level of development and allows countries to become more self-sufficient

Reducing effectiveness of government at a local level

Question 15

World bank/IMF loans strength’s and weaknesses

Answer 15

Offers money at no interest, accessible to developing countries
Interest rates offered to middle income countries are lower than that of commercial banks.

Limiting economic growth
Creating a cycle of depth

Question 16

Multi-governmental organisation (MGO’s) definition

Answer 16

groups of countries that agree to work together to achieve objectives, such as economic and/or political aims. E.g Asean, EU

Question 17

Pro’s and Con’s of joining an MGO

Answer 17

Pros:
Movement across borders makes travel easier, cheaper and provides more opportunities for individuals.

Trade blocs allow free trade, making trade good and services easier and cheaper.

Promote economic growth at all levels (local, national, international)

Political negotiations are easier, as they speak on behalf of all member states.

Cons:
Protecting its region specific industry i.e Iceland relies economically on it’s fishing industries, EU policies could have adverse effects on this.

Loss of sovereignty

Financial dependency on other member states

MGO countries that are wealthier are expected to contribute more money for development than its less wealthy member states.

Trade blocs are a barrier to international trade, limiting opportunities to trade outside the bloc. (trade is more expensive with non-member states)